The present invention relates generally to electronic price labels, and, more specifically, to applying face labels thereto.
A merchandising store, such as a grocery supermarket, displays items for sale on shelves, with a price label being provided for identifying the product by description, measure, and price. In order to automate product pricing, electronic price labels have been developed and are in current use at various locations.
In one form, the electronic price label (EPL) comprises a thin rectangular tag having face and back sides and suitable, low-power electronics therein. The EPL tag has a suitable visual electronic display such as a conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) which may operate continuously for an extended period of time on suitable battery power. The visual display typically includes multiple digits for displaying the desired retail price and unit price for example. Each digit is typically formed of seven segments conventionally arranged to display the numerals 0 through 9 when selectively energized.
The electronics of each tag are programmed during manufacture for providing a unique serial number (SN) to identify each tag, with each tag also typically including a back label or overlay which typically identifies the manufacture of the tag and includes a visual tag identification including for example the serial number assigned to and contained in the tag electronics. The identification is typically in the form of a conventional bar code such as a Code 3 of 9 bar code. The tag electronics typically also include a radio receiver so that the tag may be remotely reprogrammed for changing the display prices using a conventional radio transmitter within the store specifically designed therefor. In this way, product prices may be easily and quickly changed based on tag serial number.
However, each tag must also be associated with a given product and must include a face label or overlay identifying the specific product associated therewith, with the visual display presenting the corresponding price information to the shopper. Conventional face labels are typically preprinted to identify the specific products as well as including any desired additional information thereon such as the name of the store itself, and the universal product code (UPC) or SKU bar code if desired. The face labels are typically pressure sensitive labels already containing a suitable adhesive so that they may be easily applied and bonded to the face of the tag. As each label is applied to a respective tag, the corresponding tag serial number must be correlated with the product for allowing remote programming of the price thereof. In a typical store having hundreds or thousands of EPL tags, the manual face label application process takes a significant amount of time and is subject to human errors in application of the tags and correlating the serial numbers.